Residential School Locations

It is difficult to place an exact figure on the number of residential schools to which Aboriginal people have been sent in Canada. While religious orders had been operating such schools before Confederation in 1867, it was not the 1880s that the federal government fully embraced the residential school model for Aboriginal education. While the government began to close the schools in the 1970s, the last school remained in operation until 1996.

For purposes of providing compensation to former students the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement has identified 139 residential schools. (Despite the fact that the agreement is titled the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the lives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people were all touched by these schools.) This does not represent the full number of residential schools that operated in Canada. In particular, it excludes any school that operated without federal government support. There were residential schools that were run solely religious orders or provincial governments (or in some partnership between the two.) Furthermore, many of the concerns that have been raised about residential schools in terms of the treatment of students have also been raised about day schools that were operated for Aboriginal students with the support of the federal and provincial governments as well as by religious organizations.

Schools identified by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement

Under the terms of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement students from the following schools are eligible to apply for compensation. There is an appeals process and schools can be added to list. Information on schools added at the list can be found at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada: Aboriginal Schools: Frequently Asked Questions. This map, prepared by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, indicates the location of residential schools identified by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

Many of the schools underwent a number of name changes and were also relocated or amalgamated. The following is a listing of the schools in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement along with the names of schools that have been subsequently identified as meeting the criteria established in the agreement. The words in brackets represent alternate names of the schools. The locations for the schools have been taken from the compensation program applications form.